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The UK's only independent think tank devoted to higher education.

Blog

The HEPI Blog aims to make brief, incisive contributions to the higher education policy landscape. It is circulated to our subscribers and published online. We welcome guest submissions, which should follow our Instructions for Blog Authors. Submissions should be sent to our Blog Editor, Josh Freeman, at [email protected].

  • The Statistics Authority versus the DfE: Round X

    11 October 2018 by Nick Hillman

    At HEPI Towers, we’ve been discussing the latest spat between the UK Statistics Authority and the Department for Education about education spending. In a new exchange of letters, the Department has largely backed down. But I remain more sympathetic to their original position than, it seems, most people are. The…

  • Ten ways NOT to run an independent consultation

    9 October 2018 by Nick Hillman

    I have blogged before about the recent disappointing Migration Advisory Committee report on international students. Like many others, I had assumed it would be more helpful to the higher education sector than it turned out to be. But this should not be the end of the road because there is…

  • Dyslexia Awareness Week: Are educational institutions due an update on dyslexia aid?

    1 October 2018 by Mark Geremia

    This guest blog has been written for HEPI by Mark Geremia, Vice President and General Manager for Dragon Professional and Consumer. Studies have found that, on average, three children in every classroom are dyslexic which causes them to struggle with literacy. This equates to around 1.2 million children that find reading and writing in…

  • Using the law to tackle essay mills

    26 September 2018

    This guest blog has been kindly contributed by Michael Draper and Philip M Newton of Swansea University. It is the first time HEPI has addressed the issue of essay mills. Introduction There are renewed calls for the Government to legislate against essay mills – companies which offer, for a fee, to…

  • It’s time to broaden out the Apprenticeship Levy – by Professor Dave Phoenix

    25 September 2018 by Dave Phoenix

    This blog has been kindly contributed by Professor Dave Phoenix, Chair of MillionPlus and Vice-Chancellor of London South Bank University. In April, the Open University released a report showing that, a year after its introduction, 92 per cent of apprenticeship Levy funds went unspent, to the tune of almost £1.3 billion.…

  • Universities need incentives too – Mary Curnock Cook on fees and access

    21 September 2018

    This guest blog has been kindly provided to HEPI by Mary Curnock Cook, Senior Adviser to Cairneagle, a member of the HEPI Advisory Board and the former Chief Executive of UCAS. HEPI’s report on means-tested tuition fees and / or maintenance support is a welcome contribution to the debate about…

  • What have people been reading about higher education in 2017/18?

    10 September 2018

    The HEPI year runs from the start of August to the end of July and so, recently, we have been taking stock of our 2017/18 year. It was (by far) the busiest one ever on our website. The top 20 most-read entries were, unsurprisingly, headed by our ground-breaking research with Kaplan…

  • Universities and Integration – An Opportunity

    5 September 2018

    This guest blog has been Kindly provided by Fitzroy Morrissey of All Souls College, Oxford. In March 2018, the Government published its Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper, which set out some ideas about how to respond to the challenges highlighted by the 2016 Casey Review into opportunity and integration in Britain. Such…